The Falls in Aussie Readers

Jan 21, 2015 Brenda rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie-authors, sent-by-publisher, 2015-release, own-read, arc, romance, rural

4.5★s

The devastation Teagan Bliss was feeling as she drove the long distance between her home in South Australia – or the only home she had ever known, which was no longer her home – and her Aunt Vanessa’s property at Falls Valley, New South Wales, was deep and soul destroying. The future she had always envisioned was gone; lost forever with the betrayal by those she loved making it so much worse.

Vanessa was like a breath of fresh air – welcoming and loving; Teagan felt that maybe she could be h 4.5★s

The devastation Teagan Bliss was feeling as she drove the long distance between her home in South Australia – or the only home she had ever known, which was no longer her home – and her Aunt Vanessa’s property at Falls Valley, New South Wales, was deep and soul destroying. The future she had always envisioned was gone; lost forever with the betrayal by those she loved making it so much worse.

Vanessa was like a breath of fresh air – welcoming and loving; Teagan felt that maybe she could be happy in this little country town. It would take a while for her to work out what her future would be, but the peace and tranquillity of the valley started working immediately. With the few locals who visited Falls Farm on a regular basis, Teagan felt an immediate affinity to local farrier Lucas Knight. Good looking and popular, Lucas seemed to find Teagan intriguing. But she couldn’t believe he was interested in her – she wasn’t good enough for the likes of Lucas – was she?

Slowly Teagan began to feel better within herself – the new job with horses was wonderful, especially as she had had to sell her own horse, Astra; and the gentle feeling of closeness she was beginning to feel with Lucas – a few new friends – could she really be happy in Falls Valley? Suddenly though, the division throughout the little town between the owner of the Wellness Centre and the locals began involving Teagan – there was bitterness and hate – one side against the other. What was she to do?

I very much enjoyed The Falls, which is the latest release by Aussie author Cathryn Hein. A couple of the characters from the excellent Rocking Horse Hill also put in an appearance which was great. The side characters of Claudia, Mouse, Blanche, Betty, Wilma, Saffy and Merlin (all various temperamental animals) had me laughing out loud at their antics, with the author’s sense of humour shining through. I have no hesitation in recommending The Falls highly.

With thanks to Penguin Random House for my ARC to read and review.
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Apr 07, 2015 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie-author, arc-are, provided-by-publisher

The Falls is Cathryn Hein's sixth novel, loosely linked to Rocking Horse Hill.

Teagan Bliss is devastated when her father gambles away the family property, Pinehaven, and with it her future hopes and dreams. Betrayed and heartbroken, she seeks sanctuary at the home of her Aunt Vanessa in the Falls Valley, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. It takes time but slowly the idyllic surrounds of Falls Farm, the loving concern of her aunt, a new job, and the attentions of local farrier, Lucas Knight, enc
The Falls is Cathryn Hein's sixth novel, loosely linked to Rocking Horse Hill.

Teagan Bliss is devastated when her father gambles away the family property, Pinehaven, and with it her future hopes and dreams. Betrayed and heartbroken, she seeks sanctuary at the home of her Aunt Vanessa in the Falls Valley, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. It takes time but slowly the idyllic surrounds of Falls Farm, the loving concern of her aunt, a new job, and the attentions of local farrier, Lucas Knight, encourage Teagan to see beyond what she has lost, but how can she trust in the vision of a new future, when she can't trust in herself?

Teagan is not an easy character, though she engenders sympathy for the losses she has endured, her spiraling depression means she is closed off, prickly, and with her self esteem at rock bottom, always expecting the worst. Hein ably explores Teagan's experience as she tries to fight off the 'blackness' that threatens to overtake her.

The romance between Teagan and Lucas is fairly low key given Teagan's fragile emotional state. Though their attraction is mutual, Teagan is unable to believe Lucas could be interested in her and it takes Lucas a while to convince her otherwise. I liked Lucas, he proves to be kind and responsible, though perhaps a little naive in dealing with Teagan's depression.

The chemistry between Vanessa and Domenic add interest to the plot along with Vanessa's reservations about Domenic's motives, and Domenic's relationship with Lucas. So to does the complicated relationship between local vet, Bunny, and Duncan.

As always, Hein supports her protagonists with a community of colourful people and animals, from local busybody Colin, to Merlin the ram, and Falls Valley is vividly depicted from the rolling rural landscape to the main street of town. While cricket unites the Valley, plans for the expansion of a nearby exclusive 'wellness' center threatens to tear it apart and the tension affects Teagan who gets caught in the middle.

A little more ambitious in scope than her previous novels, The Falls is an engaging contemporary story about family, love, romance, belonging and healing, blending heartfelt romance with impassioned drama in rural Australia. ...more

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Apr 10, 2015 Bree T rated it liked it

Shelves: romance, arc, australian, rural-lit, aww2015

For Tegan Bliss, managing the family property has been her lifelong ambition. Her brother didn’t seem particularly interested and Tegan had worked hard, saved hard, to be able to accomplish her goal. But then she was betrayed by the people that should have protected her, the ones that should have fostered and nurtured her ambition. And Tegan was left devastated, homeless, directionless and feeling alone.

To heal, she heads to her aunt’s property in Falls Valley New South Wales, far away from her For Tegan Bliss, managing the family property has been her lifelong ambition. Her brother didn’t seem particularly interested and Tegan had worked hard, saved hard, to be able to accomplish her goal. But then she was betrayed by the people that should have protected her, the ones that should have fostered and nurtured her ambition. And Tegan was left devastated, homeless, directionless and feeling alone.

To heal, she heads to her aunt’s property in Falls Valley New South Wales, far away from her childhood home. Tegan’s aunt Vanessa is much younger than Tegan’s mother and Tegan has always known there’s been some tension. For her, this is a perfect place to recuperate and regroup. Vanessa is a fabulous host and her place is always humming with visitors who pop by for Vanessa’s popular cocktail hour. There are plenty of animals for Tegan to bond with – and some she’d rather not. She finds herself a job working with horses and then there’s Lucas Knight, the local farrier. Possibilities are endless.

But the sanctuary Tegan seeks can’t last forever and she’s stunned when she’s followed to Vanessa’s by someone she’d rather not see, who brings up the memory of pain and betrayal. She throws herself into local politics, something that Vanessa knows can’t end well. Tegan is already in a fragile state of mind and when she realises just how many people around her are still keeping secrets, it’s going to tear her apart.

The Falls is Cathryn Hein’s fifth novel and is very loosely linked to the previous, Rocking Horse Hill. Tegan is one of Emily from RHH’s best friends and her story begins in that novel as her ambition and later devastation is showcased alongside Emily’s story. In the opening of this story, Tegan has arrived at the property of her aunt Vanessa in New South Wales, needing some time to get away and recover from the betrayal she experienced and the loss of her home. Tegan is angry – very angry and she’s also suffering from a sort of blackness that threatens to take hold of her. At times her voice is quite dark and it’s clear that Tegan is a person who is experiencing a lot of pain without a way to vent it.

Unfortunately there’s no getting around the fact that I have a couple of issues with this book, things that didn’t particularly work for me. For a start, it does feel a bit overlong and there’s a lot of filler scenes where random people just roll up to Vanessa’s to drink specific drinks on specific days and at times, it doesn’t feel like these scenes do anything to advance the plot (or in some cases, Lucas and Tegan’s very fledgling romance). The character of Vanessa didn’t do much for me individually but when put together with businessman Dominic, who owned a nearby rehabilitation centre and wellness facility that was controversial for the locals, she became interesting. Actually for a while there, Vanessa and Dominic’s dance around each other was far more interesting than anything else happening in the book and they do have quite an appealing chemistry.

It’s rare for me not to love a Hein hero but I didn’t really fall in love with Lucas. Their first meeting was awkward, especially when he told Tegan that although he found her physically attractive and his type, she was too skinny. I don’t believe that should be any more acceptable than telling someone that she’s his type but too fat. Tegan does have reasons for being underweight but I don’t feel as though anyone does her any favours by addressing these in a productive way. Instead people just tell her she’s too skinny (including the guy she’s attracted to) which tends to just make her self esteem even worse and she’s always thinking of ways to hide her skinny body or wondering if Lucas is repulsed by it. When they do begin to put together a tentative relationship, Lucas seems to take on far too much responsibility for Tegan’s general mental health and stability, which doesn’t take much to figure out can’t end well. He doesn’t help the situation by keeping things from her – things that to be honest, wouldn’t be too earth shattering in a normal situation but with Tegan’s prejudice and issues, end up being just another sign to her that people betray her and don’t trust her.

Interestingly enough, my favourite scene with Tegan is when she stands up for herself and lets fly at one of the people that hurt her. It might be the wrong one in a way – someone more enabling than guilty but I felt such satisfaction that Tegan was getting a chance to actually tell people how she felt, how utterly devastated and betrayed she was, how angry and how disappointed because it seems as though this is a bit glossed over. It’s also a scene that causes other characters to turn on her for going too far so maybe I’m just the bloodthirsty sort who enjoys a good chance for vengeance. I actually don’t think there was anything wrong with how angry Tegan was apart from the fact that she wasn’t moving on from it even when things started to turn around. Venting that anger should’ve been a natural part of it, instead she’s made feel ashamed about it which seems to only make things worse when she believes that people who have supported her are now upset with her. Tegan’s anger was justified, at least to me. She should’ve gotten to aim it at one more person too, before she embarked on her journey of therapy and healing!

For me The Falls was not without its issues but it’s still a very readable and enjoyable story focusing on putting yourself and your family back together again after both have been torn apart. Tegan does experience a lot of personal growth in the book and her relationship with Lucas can only grow and strengthen as well once everything is out in the open and they can focus on themselves rather than the myriad of issues and secrets around them. I really enjoyed the setting in this book, the property where Tegan comes to try and heal and there’s a lot of colour in the local community and as always, a few animals of character to lighten things up! There is a third book to come, featuring Emily and Tegan’s friend Jasmine and I am dying to read that and see precisely what Jasmine’s story is from the snippets we’ve been fed by her friends. ...more

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